9/11 Invader Artist May Face Legal Action
To the unaware, artist Douglas Edric Stanley created an exhibit for Games Convention 2008 "Space Invaders attacks New York's Twin Towers". The installation was created with the intention of eliciting a (negative) emotional response, so I'm not going to comment on taste level. It did exactly what it was supposed to do.
The exhibit was simple. It's a two player motion capture setup, where players move to fire projectiles from off screen cannons which destroy the alien invaders. The invaders are slowly firing holes in what were the Twin Towers. The effort always proves futile, as the towers will always fall. This is a strong image that many will find objectionable.
Not only those who attended the convention had issues with this. Taito is currently threatening legal action against the exhibit creator and possibly even the convention itself for using their trademark Space Invaders! without their permission or prior knowledge.
TAITO is seriously considering all available options--including legal actions against the infringer and, if necessary, the Games Convention exhibitor involved--in order to end this unauthorized and impermissible misuse of the Space Invaders content and to protect TAITO's intellectual properties.
It is pretty safe to say that they want to distance themselves from the negative image this show created, as they should. I don't necessarily think that what Mr. Stanley did was wrong, and honestly from a creative standpoint I can appreciate it. Shock and awe drives the underground art community, and once you get past the immediate horror of making light of the act it is a rather creative thought. Numerous commercial games and movies have enacted similar imagery, and I would hate to have a "but, not us" attitude.
Update:
Taito released an official statement regarding the possible legal action:
TAITO Corporation (TAITO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Co., Ltd., today stated unequivocally that the "Invaders!" installation by Douglas Edric Stanley and displayed at the Games Convention held in Leipzig, Germany was produced entirely without TAITO's knowledge and that the use of the world-famous Space Invaders® content was wholly unauthorized. The "Space Invaders: Die Jubiläumsshow!" ("Space Invaders: the Anniversary Show") exhibition of the Computer Game Museum Berlin hosting the installation was likewise planned and presented without TAITO's knowledge and authorization.TAITO is seriously considering all available options--including legal actions against the infringer and, if necessary, the Games Convention exhibitor involved--in order to end this unauthorized and impermissible misuse of the Space Invaders content and to protect TAITO's intellectual properties.
Taito Considering Legal Action Againt 9/11 Invader Artist [Kotaku]
Asterick
Posted to Video Games on 22 August 2008
· Comments (9)
Other stuff like this: 9/11, legal action, oh snaps, space invaders, taito, twin towers
You mean "elicit" not "illicit" in the first paragraph.
On topic, I'm curious to know if someone more familiar with "Fair Use" knows if this kind of thing would fall under those provisions.
If you have a creative idea, aliens destroying the twin towers is an excellent concept, but do it better.
Have Donkey Kong rolling barrels at the firemen, or an attack from Stay Puft etc.
I cannot forgive ill thought out crap pretending to be innovative, this isn't anything.
Also, I am not offended, I was making 9/11 jokes on 9/11 :)
This is uninspired piffle, do something funny underground gaming community, prove the internet isn't completely full of witless cretins.
"with the intention to elicit"
"supposed to do"
"firing holes in what the former Twin Towers"
"Not only those who attended had issues with this."
threattening -> threatening
@GrammarMan: Ok, now I don't feel so bad about nitpicking the illicit/elicit thing.
@CJG: I'd've thought it would be protected as a parody, yeah.
I find it oddly interesting that none of the german gaming sites I read (I'm in frankfurt) have even mentioned this. Americans.
I thought the piece was actually quite charming... It's unfortunate to see people trying to censor the arts like this. If it was a painting, a book, or even a song this wouldn't happen- It's because it's a game, unfortunately.
I would think that since the incident took place in Germany courtesy of a French resident, American copyright concepts might not really map. They may not have a similar concept to "fair use"; they may have concepts that protect artistic expression to a greater degree than the US system does. Now that the exhibit has been taken down, it's probably a moot point.
But to me it just demonstrates the absurdity of extending copyright as we have; prior to the many extensions passed in the US and codified internationally by the Berne Convention and other treaties, Taito would have had to renew the Space Invaders copyright in 1991 and it would have expired altogether in 2005. I think that people's reaction to this exhibit, aside from the expected corporate grandstanding, demonstrates beyond a doubt that Space Invaders belongs to the culture now from a moral standpoint, not to any single company.
I know one thing: E3, whether the glitzy old or boring new one, would never take a chance on an art exhibition with a hundredth of the riskiness of this one. Leipzig may not be big news either, but at least they're a little less stodgy.
People getting their panties in a bunch over something stupid is nothing new.